Mash had left after painting his weapon. He wasn’t sure if he should name the weapon yet. The durability and value of the metal were unknown. Giving it a name would make it too special, and that would make it worse if the thing just broke. He would wait. If it withstood a few fights, then it would earn a name. His enemies might give it one before he could. After examining the weapon, he dashed up the mountain.

He wasn’t slow and the mountain wasn’t that big. Within an hour or so, he had already climbed most of it. Although, he hadn’t seen anything that might indicate a Lord of any kind. No castles or buildings at all. He was able to see what looked like a cave entrance near the top though. The lord better is there. He really didn’t want to have to search other places. The world was large, and he couldn’t waste time searching it.

“Halt!”

The shout echoed from the cave long before Mash approached. The voice rolled down the side of the mountain. It was so loud that Mash was a little concerned about an avalanche. The snow didn’t seem bothered by the voice though. Mash slowed but didn’t stop. He continued marching through the snow. Now that he wasn’t moving, the chill was beginning to affect him. It wouldn’t be dangerous with how resistant his body was, but it didn’t feel good. The usual warmth of his mana wasn’t there.

“I need to speak to the Lord.”

Mash shouted as loud as he could. He didn’t know if the speaker could hear him. He continued to stomp through the snow, and the voice shouted again. It was a deep voice that echoed from the cave.

“The Lord will not speak with one such as you. Begone!”

Again, the voice seemed to threaten an avalanche. However, the settled snow firmly didn’t do as commanded. Mash took its example and continued to tread up the slope. Even if the speaker wasn’t the Lord, it sounded like the Lord was in there. The voice didn’t respond to his progress, so Mash tried another angle.

“I just want to go home. I don’t want any trouble.”

Mash’s wishes were not met. A figure passed into his domain. It was barely a shadow to his eyes, and it leaped at him from the direction of the cave. Mash took a second to just examine the bizarre creature. It was an enormous cat. A weirdly muscular cat, that had an impossibly white coat. It was so pure that the figure perfectly blended with the snow. His domain revealed more than his eyes though, and he managed to lift his new staff against the creature. Mash held his weapon between both hands, and the beast crashed into it headfirst. He deflected it batting the creature into the snow. The impact was enough to send him into the snow too.

Mash sprung to his feet; his domain let him see as the creature attempted to get at him again. This time, he was more prepared, and he swung the staff like a club. The creature attempted to flex its body around the staff, but Mash just changed the direction of his swing to match the movement. The staff connected, and one of the sharper teeth spikes even punctured the cat’s hide. It rolled across the snow like a log, before managing to get back to its feet. It stared at Mash, and he met its gaze confidently.

“You may have strength, but I have a family.”

The talking cat stunned Mash, especially since the voice matched the one from the cave. That delay cost him as another creature leaped out of the snow. It had been skulking through it, but just beyond the limits of his domain. The monster’s claws were out, and they tore into his forearm as he raised it in defense. His moment of confusion made him forget about the weapon, and he faced the consequences of that. The claws dug gouges into his flesh, and blood spilled from the wound. The creature's other claw glanced off his shirt as if it were a set of armor. The force still sent him tumbling through the snow though.

Mash didn’t stay down for long. He used the staff to push himself forward. The sudden leap let him dodge the cat's follow-up strike. He rolled over his head using the staff and his hand to rise to the feet. His head swiveled all the way around this time, and he noticed another cat this time. He saw three in total but knew that there might be more beneath the snow.

The three cats were almost identical. However, the one that had come from beneath the snow had thin black stripes running across its legs. Finally, the last one had black fur around their feet. The first, the pure white one, spoke again.

“You are dangerous but alone. Begone! Never return here.”

Mash’s arm spilled blood onto the snow for only a moment longer. The wound had almost completely healed, and he waved the hand in a placating gesture. When he saw the creature pause he began to explain his intentions.

“I don’t want to fight. Just let me speak to the lord. I just need some mana.”

“Liar. You had come into this world unprompted. One of those that seek our father’s death. His authority.”

This came from the second beast. Its voice was considerably higher than he expected, and Mash realized that the creature might be female. It was hard to tell with the snow and their fur. He shook his head quickly.

“No, why would I even do that? It’s not like I’ll get anything without mana.”

The first creature drew his attention back to it with a small growl.

“All those that come to seek the same thing. Speak the same lies. We will not forget.”

Mash raised both hands, holding their palm out toward the two closest creatures. His weapon fell and dug into the snow. It stuck out like a weird tree. Mash ignored it and tried to placate the monsters.

“I really don’t want to harm your father. Just…”

His voice lagged as Priscilla sent a message.

[I would assume the Lord is the one preventing magic. The others, that these creatures mentioned, likely desired the same thing as you. I expect the only way to accomplish this is to kill the Lord and take his place. You must own the world to change how it works.]

She had stated what his mind had been trying to reject. The Lord was probably the world's owner, and his coming here was because of that. The trial was to kill the Lord and make a way home for himself. The realization didn’t shake him. When had he come to normalize killing and death? What had changed?

[You killed someone who you thought deserved it. The slaver’s death showed you that death isn’t the worst thing people have done.]

The fact that Priscilla was able to explain his thoughts better than he could, didn’t escape him. She was right. He didn’t know when exactly the change had happened, but death didn’t seem as horrible as it had been before. It wasn’t his class that had changed him either. This was just him, and he accepted it. He could kill people now. It would affect him; he had no doubt of that. The difference was that he could live with it now.

“You know what. Let's just fight. I will go see the Lord after.”

Mash kicked the staff and spun it into his hands before settling into a combat stance. One that he hadn’t used in a long time. It felt familiar, and he smiled at the cats he had just provoked. They snarled and the pure white one leaped at him.

This time he was prepared. More than that, he wasn’t trying to talk to them anymore. His staff spun around him as he twisted his body. The cat brought down its claws to push him into the dirt. He let them dig into his shoulders. The damage would heal, and they couldn’t cut that deep through his clothes. He took the hit to bring his staff up and strike the creature on the underside of its skull. There was a breaking sound, and Mash checked his staff as the cat was sent tumbling. The weapon was fine, which meant that the beast was probably not getting up soon.

Another creature jumped him. Mash’s wounds were still healing, so it hurt when he twisted to smack the strike aside. The beast’s claws met the metal staff and were swatted away. The momentum of the impact wasn’t wasted. He spun on the snow, turning his body nearly the whole way around. The cat reacted, jumping back to dodge him. It was not prepared for Mash to release his weapon and hurl it like a javelin. The staff wasn’t sharp, but it still managed to punch through the creature’s skin. The sheer amount of force sent it into the snow like a comet. It left a long trail.

The final cat leaped at him in a wild rage. It actually screamed, in words that he could understand.

“How dare you!”

The tone was definitely that of a younger creature. And he got the feeling that he had just half killed their parents. He let that thought linger, as he caught their claws with his own hands. Its claws dug through his flesh, but they couldn’t get through his bones either. He awkwardly clasped hands with the beast that was almost twice his size. Mash looked into its eyes and saw the blind fury. The anger behind those eyes told Mash to just end the fight. He Lifted his arms up in a sudden motion. The beast was physically weaker than him, and its whole body was lifted into the air. Then he swung his hands down, slamming them into the snow with enough force to send a ripple across the surface.

He stepped back and stared down at the cat. The cat rose on shaky feet, but Mash didn’t finish it off. Killing it would be easy, but pointless. It wouldn’t give him levels or a way out. And these beings didn’t seem particularly evil either. He strolled over to the other cat, the one that had been partially impaled by his staff. It was struggling to remove it, and he winced at the sight.

The staff had pierced the creature just beside its front leg. A few more inches to the right, and it would probably be dead. Instead, it just looked to be in a lot of pain. Blood had streaked through its fur and the surrounding snow. It was whimpering as the odd shape of the staff poked it in places it shouldn’t be poked. Both to get his weapon back, and to let it start healing properly he took the weapon back. He grabbed the staff and yanked it out in one quick motion. The cat yelped in pain. He awkwardly apologized as he started to climb the mountain again.

“Sorry, about that one.”

His domain told him that the first cat was shifting, and he turned to check their condition. The blood that was pouring from its mouth was bad. It was definitely a broken jaw. Seeing the blood staining its face, he thought that crushed was a more accurate description. He left the creatures to lick their wounds and ran up the mountain.